There are currently being manufactured and developed a number of devices and systems for use in fiber-optic networks. These devices and systems include optical amplifiers that provide direct amplification of fiber-optic signals without the need to convert the light signal into an electrical signal. These fiber-optic devices and systems typically include a number of optical components having fiber leads that must be spliced together. The optical fiber leads are easily damaged. Structures have been developed for mounting the optical components into the fiber-optic devices and for stowing the spliced leads out of harm's way.
One disadvantage of currently used optical component mounting structures is that they require a relatively large amount of space within the fiber-optic device. This is increasingly problematic as the trend in fiber-optic devices is towards smaller packages. Thus there is a need for a system for mounting optical components within a fiber-optic device that protects the optical components while efficiently using the space available.